Christmas in Iceland

Andrea Vale
Jan 6, 2020
2 min read

I love experiencing holidays in places that aren’t my hometown and Christmas in Iceland was no exception. Reykjavík, beautiful during the day with its mountains and pink skies, was full of holiday cheer at night. Hundreds of lights criss-crossed above the streets, sometimes meeting to hold up a giant lighted bell. Christmas trees and ornaments filled nearly every shop window with the feeling of home. I was especially fond of the thirteen yule lad projections hidden high up on buildings and in alleyways all around the city depicting each of the sons of Gryla (the woman who eats all of the bad children at Christmas) causing mischief. Each of these brothers arrives on a different day leading up to Christmas and are named for the trouble that they cause. Some of my personal favorites are Spoon-licker, Door-slammer, Meat-hook, and Doorway-sniffer. About halfway between the church Hallgrímskirkja and the Harpa Concert Hall stood a massive cat—its back arched to the sky, teeth bared in a hiss, and eyes glowing red. It’s known as the Yule Cat and in Icelandic folklore would eat any poor soul who didn’t get new clothes for Christmas (and forgot to leave an offer of warm clothing for the cat itself). Overall the folklore tales surrounding Christmas in Iceland are a lot more PG-13 than those in the United States, although there has been a push to make the legends more kid friendly.

Folklore is not the only difference between here and there at the holidays. In many homes, the food at family dinner is different. In our tour guide Stefán’s family, meals span from the 23rd through the 25th and typically include fermented ray, creamy mushroom soup, duck breasts and smoked leg of lamb. If his brother wins the Christmas dinner debate that year, a ham, like that in the United States, might be cooked in lieu of the duck breasts. Most of this sounds appetizing, but I personally might struggle with the fermented ray as I have not been eating the ~aromatic~ seafood since childhood.

My favorite Icelandic Christmas tradition is the exchanging and reading of books on Christmas Eve. Iceland is an extremely literate country (ranked third in the world) and once the Bokatidindi comes out before the holidays, Icelanders pore over the free catalog and note new titles that pique their interest. It’s like a Scholastic book fair for all ages and that is something I can 100% get behind. I think spending time with family then devouring a new book sounds like a wonderful time and, if I have a family one day, it is definitely a tradition I will attempt to start with them.

While parts of an Icelandic Christmas vary wildly from the holiday I celebrate at home, family and friends are still at the center of it all—along with twinkly lights, evergreen trees, and tenderly-wrapped gifts. It’s nice to feel connected to the people of an island almost 3000 miles away from home during this season of joy and love.